Chiropractic: Your Primary Choice For Alternative Healthcare
by Raymond M. Lombardi, D.C., N.D., C.C.N.
Alternative care is literally exploding across the American landscape. Many of you are integrating and using one or more of these approaches on a regular basis for better health and wellness and to address a variety of healthcare issues. Of the various natural healthcare approaches, one system has a long and distinguished history in the United States. It’s an exciting system, which addresses the whole body, focuses on the nervous system and the body’s ability to heal itself, and whose practitioners use spinal adjustments as their primary treatment form. This amazing system is called “chiropractic” and it is the second largest, and fastest growing, natural-based primary healthcare system in the United States. While many have heard of chiropractic, there continues to be a large amount of confusion as to its varied approaches, capabilities and value. This article will provide important answers for you and clear up many of the misconceptions about this natural approach to health.
Chiropractic usage, like many forms of alternative care, has soared over the past decade. But did you know that chiropractic has been available for more than 100 years in the United States? Begun in the mid-1890s by D. D. Palmer, chiropractic has flourished despite years of controversy and ongoing (albeit decreasing) attacks from mainstream medicine. Chiropractic usage has become so commonplace that it is considered one of the “primary” healthcare approaches in the U.S. The irony here is that this usage has confused a good many people, both in the general public and within the alternative care community, into considering chiropractic as a “mainstream” system (akin, I suppose, to “mainstream medicine”). Nothing could be further from the truth. Chiropractic is a conservative, non-invasive natural-based system with a focus on whole body health and wellness.
So what is chiropractic? According to the International Chiropractic Association, chiropractic is a “conservative and natural healing art and science that concentrates on keeping people well. Doctors of chiropractic attempt to get to the root cause of a health problem rather than just treat the symptoms. They seek to maximize the natural strengths of the body and its capacity to heal itself without the use of drugs or
surgery. The primary focus of chiropractic is the detection, reduction and correction of spinal misalignments and nervous system dysfunction.”
The American Chiropractic Association adds that “Chiropractic is a branch of the healing arts which is concerned with human health and disease processes. Doctors of Chiropractic are physicians who consider man as an integrated being and give special attention to the physiological and biochemical aspects including structural, spinal, musculoskeletal, neurological, vascular, nutritional, emotional and environmental relationships.” Both of these statements provide an excellent description of chiropractic.
Chiropractic’s primary treatment approach is the use of manual manipulation. Chiropractors use a number of specialized manipulative techniques that have been developed within the profession. These
techniques vary from those utilizing an “adjusting instrument” such as the “activator” to the more traditional “short lever-high speed maneuvers performed by hand.” Chiropractors use these precise, controlled manipulations (or “adjustments”) to resolve spinal “subluxations” and to treat other joint structures (i.e. the extremities) of the body. The term “subluxation” is used by the chiropractic profession to describe a misalignment (slight dislocation) or biomechanical malfunction of the spinal vertebrae (bony segments) of the spinal column resulting in loss of motion and normal function of a particular vertebrae or multiple spinal segments. With this malfunction, a number of related disturbances develop, with negative effects to nerve roots, nerves, blood vessels, adjacent soft tissue structure and overall, the health of the body. Subluxations can be either symptomatic or non-symptomatic. When symptoms are present in subluxated joints, the primary one is usually pain, with a number of other associated symptoms (especially to adjacent soft tissue structures) possibly being present including inflammation, swelling, muscular spasm, etc. The critical concept here is that chiropractic treatment has both local and whole body effects via its input to the nervous system. This input, through chiropractic adjustments, has profound health benefits for the spine, the nervous system and to the body’s overall health and well being.
While many have heard of chiropractic, few in the general public realize the extent and scope of education and training that today’s chiropractor must complete prior to becoming licensed. The fact is, Doctors of Chiropractic receive an extensive professional education on par with medical doctors and osteopaths. The overall education for chiropractors includes comprehensive undergraduate regimen (minimum of two years of prerequisites) that focuses on biological and basic sciences, followed by four or more years of graduate-level instruction at a chiropractic college. Built into this professional format is a clinical residency program in the chiropractic college clinic emphasizing practical application and “hands-on” work with regular patients. Overall, the Doctor of Chiropractic receives approximately 4500 hours of intensive instruction in all the basic biological, clinical and medical sciences. Chiropractors must pass national board examinations similar to those taken by medical doctors and specific state licensing examinations (which combine written and oral testing). Chiropractors are licensed in all 50 states and its practitioners are found worldwide. Simply put, today’s chiropractors are highly-skilled healthcare professionals extensively educated and proficient in a wide range of clinical and diagnostic skills. From this professional background chiropractors provide high quality, natural healthcare.
Chiropractic treatment, while using spinal adjustments as the primary treatment form, may integrate a variety of adjunct treatment procedures within an overall chiropractic program. These varied treatment approaches within the chiropractic profession has led to a certain level of confusion for the general public. Essentially there are two main forms that chiropractic treatment may take. The first are those chiropractors who focus primarily on finding and resolving subluxations of the spine, using spinal adjustments as their only treatment. These chiropractors typically limit or do not utilize any other treatment approach and they are known as “subluxation-based” chiropractors. The second type of chiropractor specifically integrates a variety of other treatment procedures with the spinal adjustments, including some or all of the following: physical therapy modalities, rehabilitation procedures (exercise and stretching), massage therapy, nutritional and dietary programs (such as whole foods, supplementation, herbal and homeopathic counseling), acupuncture and acupressure. This group is known as “mixers” within the chiropractic profession. Both groups provide educational information on health and wellness, lifestyle modifications, postures and proper positioning.
| “Chiropractic is a branch of the healing arts which is concerned with.” human health and disease processes. Doctors of Chiropractic are.” physicians who consider man as an integrated being and give.” special attention to the physiological and biochemical aspects.” including structural, spinal, musculoskeletal, neurological,.vascular, nutritional, emotional and environmental relationships.” |
| —American Chiropractic Association. |
For individual chiropractors, what determines their specific approach is a matter of training, philosophy and their belief system. For the general public, determining which type of chiropractic approach to use can be a difficult decision and is dependent on many factors not the least being what you as the patient may want or need integrated into your treatment program. Regardless of the form used, chiropractic is an effective treatment approach for a large variety of conditions and complaints. There can be significant differences in treatment approaches utilized by
chiropractors.
Is one type better than another? The first factor to consider is that most (if not all) chiropractors use some form of spinal adjustments as their primary treatment form. This basic tenet crosses over regardless of whether or not a chiropractor integrates other treatment procedures within a chiropractic program. From that standpoint, the overall health benefits garnered from the spinal adjustments will be obtained regardless of the type of practitioner. This is an important concept since the utilization of chiropractic care for health and wellness must integrate the spinal adjustments. Ironically, the main reason people seek chiropractic care initially is due to pain, discomfort and/or a functional limitation. The areas involved are primarily in the low back, back, neck, head and, less frequently, to the extremities of the body. Chiropractic has proven itself to be the treatment of choice for spinal and soft tissue conditions. However, this has become a double-edged sword as many people have come to view chiropractic as a strictly musculoskeletal treatment form. Worse, some would love to pigeonhole chiropractic for only treating conditions such as low back pain. While this is sort of thinking is ludicrous to most chiropractors, it has become evident that the general public has lost site of the many health benefits that can be derived from regular chiropractic care. For general health and wellness, chiropractic care should be the primary treatment approach.
In my practice, I integrate a large variety of treatment procedures beyond the spinal adjustments. I have found that an integrated approach allows me to address healthcare issues from more than one perspective and on a variety of levels. Within my practice, I utilize most physical therapy and rehabilitation techniques, massage therapy and acupressure procedures.
Perhaps our biggest focus is with the application of clinical nutrition. Because of this varied approach, there are many conditions and diseases that make their way into my clinic that perhaps would not be found in other chiropractic offices. From a personal perspective I feel that this integrated approach allows me to offer more complete healthcare and is certainly my preference. I believe that this “integrated” approach adds an important dimension to healthcare which, when added to chiropractic care, offers a complete package for natural healthcare. This is especially true with the integration of clinical nutrition and other physical approaches.
Chiropractic is a very important natural based, primary healthcare system which, to date, has been underutilized by the American public. Utilizing a direct, “hands-on” approach, which does not use drugs or surgery, chiropractic has a great deal to offer to us all. I believe that chiropractic needs to become completely integrated into our present healthcare system specifically as the initial treatment of choice for any conservative, natural care. Chiropractic care, in and of itself, is an excellent, primary care natural healthcare approach. I believe that further integration with other modalities, such as clinical nutrition and other physical approaches, only adds to the overall value of chiropractic healthcare. There are many chiropractors already utilizing this integrated approach. For your health and well being, try chiropractic! You will be amazed at how powerful it can be.
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